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Common sense can curb fatalities

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Monday January 6, 2014 4:33 AM

Last year saw the lowest number of statewide traffic fatalities since Ohio started keeping
statistics in 1936, and that very good news is made even better because much of the decline was in
Franklin County.

But the fact that a third of the state’s 981 traffic deaths last year were alcohol-related shows
that there still are hundreds of entirely preventable deaths occurring because people are failing
to make responsible decisions about drinking and driving.

Officials attribute the drop to several factors, including traffic-law enforcement, public
education and quality emergency care.

Dealing with the issue of drunken driving is a vexing and urgent problem. Particularly difficult
is the issue of how to address habitual offenders.

Since 2005 , more than 260 Ohioans have been charged with at least their 10th drunken-driving
conviction, proving that conventional methods haven’t been working to deter all repeat offenders.
Despite having their licenses suspended, many just keep driving drunk and endangering others.

For the majority of people who are social drinkers but not alcoholics, though, common-sense
measures should be taken consistently to guard against impaired driving.

Planning for a designated driver or an alternative means of transportation when one is likely to
be drinking is a must — and a potential lifesaver for the driver and for everyone else on the
road.